(May 17, 2002) — Pete Reynolds, the second-year Churchville-Chili
varsity baseball coach, was among those who had the highest regard for
Mike Fennell.
"Mike Fennell set the tone for Section V baseball," said Reynolds of the
McQuaid Jesuit coach who died Wednesday morning after an 18-month battle
with non-smoker's lung cancer. "In a lot of ways he put Section V on the
map. I hope we can keep it there for him. It'd be a great service for a
great man.
"His team was a family and last year it was very easy to tell who they
were playing for, even though he wasn't on the bench all the time."
McQuaid and Fairport -- two Section V schools Fennell was a big part of
-- will honor him when they play each other at 7 Sunday night at
Frontier Field. Fennell was an All-Monroe County catcher for Fairport in
the late 1970s and became one of the most successful high school
baseball coaches in the state after taking over the McQuaid program in
1992.
There is no admission charge for Sunday's game, but donations will be
accepted to benefit his wife Erin and their three children.
